Customer Reviews

The Sugar Fix: The High-Fructose Fallout That Is Making You Fat and Sick

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is a must have for the health conscious or for those looking for how to really lose weight. The author presents the inherent dangers of excessive fructose in the standard American diet and the damage it causes.A high fructose diet causes the body to increase its levels of uric acid which leads to high blood pressure and obesity. Fructose is the sugar naturally found in fruit and is an additive in most processed foods. The book presents a low fructose diet and advises the use of mainly starchy carbohydrates and the avoidance of all fructose for the first two weeks of the diet. After the first two weeks you can add a few pieces of fruit to the diet. The diet is well balanced between carbohydrates, protein, and fat. I have read 100 diet and health books and have lost 50 pounds myself on the Zone Diet which is very close to this one. I highly recommend this book for losing weight and for having better health. It really explains the damage that excessive fructose does to the body and what foods to avoid which contain it.

This book is a well written and quite readable fount of useful information about sugar and especially about the relatively new sweetener called high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was developed a little more than 35 tears ago. It has one big advantage, it's the most inexpensive sugar available. But it has the disadvantage of being very unhealthy when consumed in large quantities, in which it currently is consumed because of its low cost. High fructose corn syrup can cause obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes among other ailments and all of these ailments have increased dramatically since HFCS has come to be the most popular sweetener currently in use. HFCS is used in a large number of foods not normally thought of as containing sugar -- including bread, ketchup, and baby food -- but a major source of this unhealthy sweetener in modern American diets is soft drinks and sweetened fruit drinks, which are frequently dispensed these days in super-size quantities.

Yes, fruits -- which are good for us -- contain the sugar fructose but in very small amounts, because fructose is very sweet. And humans have safely been eating fruits for a hundred thousand years or more. But high fructose corn syrup in food and soft drinks has increased the amount of fructose which Americans now consume by a much as ten times the amount our ancestors got from fruit and this unnatural increase, as this book points out, has resulted in dangerous increases in obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Please read this book and learn about the risks of this dangerous food product and how to minimize them.

I bought and finished this book in 2 days. As a person who has suffered from insulin resistance for years and blessed not to have developed type 2 diabetes, this book was an answer to my prayers!! What should have been common sense to me in regards to overconsumption of sugar laden foods, was not. It took this book to show me just how dangerous HFCS and Fructose really is in large amounts. The diet outlined in the book is surprising at not at all difficult but one must ask themselves, how bad do they want to be healed. It is a small sacrafice for abundant health. I have often asked myself why so many Americans are so fat and unhealthy and now I know why. Thank-you so much Dr. Johnson for such simple yet profound information. Do yourself a favor and purchase this book. I guarantee that it will be an eye opener!!!

I've got a personal interest in the causes of obesity and, more, broadly, metabolic syndrome, and have read around on the subject. One of my favorites is "Good Calories, Bad Calories," by Gary Taubes. Taubes, using extensive scientific studies dating back over the last century, and even farther, points a damning finger at carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, argue Taubes, raise insulin, and insulin, through various pathways, causes the myriad "Western diseases" -- obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and most cancers. But for me, that couldn't be the whole story. Despite what Taubes says, I don't think all those healthy, thin and heart-disease-free aboriginal peoples abstained from carbs. Many aboriginal cultures base their diets on one or more carbohydrate-rich foods, notably corn, rice, potatoes, yams, or taro root, and yet don't suffer from Western diseases unless they begin eating a Western diet.

I think "The Sugar Fix" may have the answer. As Taubes argues, insulin may play a large role in the Western diseases, but not because all carbohydrates raise insulin to undesirable levels. Rather, after reading "The Sugar Fix," I now believe that fructose raises insulin resistance, thereby increasing the insulin levels in our bodies and causing all the damage Gary Taubes describes in "Good Calories, Bad Calories." Without fructose, no insulin resistance, less insulin, and less disease. "The Sugar Fix's" author makes a good argument that uric acid plays a role, as well.

The cover of this book -- and I blame the publisher, not the authors -- implies that high fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, is the problem. This kept me from reading the book at first, because from my own readings I don't believe HFCS is significantly worse than table sugar, despite a lot of unsubstantiated hype against it. But on actually reading the book, I was relieved to see the authors don't target HFCS specifically. While minor differences in the way our bodies digest HFCS may make it marginally more dangerous than other types of sweeteners, the real problem isn't which sweetener you use, but the fructose they contain. HFCS contains fructose, but so does table sugar, honey, maple syrup, and fruits. Yes, fruits -- but I was relieved once again when the authors made a point to tell their readers in no uncertain terms NOT to remove fruits from their diets, except for the 2 week introductory period to a low-fructose diet. After that, the book recommends eating fruit on a daily basis, so long as you don't go over your 25 gram daily fructose allowance. I think that's a reasonable and healthful way to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I did have a couple of complaints, which is why I gave the book four rather than five stars. First, I didn't particularly like how the book was put together. All the "good stuff" (to my mind) was packed in the first couple of chapters, and the rest just seemed like filler. But, I often see that when doctors write books -- they like to present the evidence, make a diagnosis then use the rest of the space for a prescription. Logical enough, but it doesn't make for as interesting a read as it might have been. A minor complaint. Second and more importantly, I think some of the science was underrepresented (such as the pathways by which fructose raises insulin resistance) while the author's own studies were a bit overemphasized, considering they were rather small and preliminary. I think the whole book was a little premature -- it would've made a bigger impact if the authors had waited for some bigger, better studies.

Finally, I'm with some of the other reviewers here, I think the authors made a poor choice in recommending artificial sweeteners in place of fructose. "The lesser of two evils?"... maybe. But maybe not. The authors didn't want to present that science in any detail, and I've read it both ways. Personally, I prefer to "err on the side of natural" and have chosen not to consume artificial sweeteners in any form. Even as a chocolate lover and someone with a raging sweet tooth, I can say it IS possible to eat less than the authors' recommended 25 g of fructose daily and also eat no artificial sweeteners, and not suffer for it! It just takes a lot of fruit, and a lot of label-reading. I removed most processed foods from my diet long ago, which while not easy, is probably the BEST single thing you can do for your health, and you'll get rid of most HFCS in your diet at the same time.

Though some of the science here could potentially be valuable (uric acid and its health connections, to my knowledge, are not explained in any other contemporary work), there is so much misinformation that I would never recommend this to anyone.

It is certainly true that reducing your fructose intake, specifically through eliminating HFCS, will improve your health but the suggested diet outlined here is hopelessly inadequate and rife with glaring omissions and outright fallacies. Key examples include:

1. Promotion of alternative sugars such as aspartame - contrary to what the author states, aspartame, splenda and other alternative sugars are neither safe nor constructive for someone attempting to rebuild their health.

2. "Safe food" list vagueness - "biscuits" are listed as a safe food, however most biscuits are made from white flour which almost instantly breaks down into sugar in your body, completely defeating the purpose of a reduced sugar diet. In addition, most commercial biscuits will contain hydrogenated oils and/or added sugar which are also counterproductive. These issues are never addressed and other list items contain the same type of vagueness. It difficult to see how someone without other resources or prior knowledge of the subject could successfully use this guide.

3. Dairy - the author recommends non-fat dairy products, which have been proven to be less beneficial for health and weight loss than their full fat counterparts. In addition, he makes no distinction between ultra-pasteurized, artificially sweetened, rBGH loaded dairy products and their organic/all natural/raw alternatives. While this may sound like a slight oversight, the impact on someone seeking to improve their health - especially if they already have a compromised immune system as the author assumes - would be tremendous.

I highly recommend that people interested in this subject avail themselves of the much better works already available.
Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats
Potatoes Not Prozac: Solutions for Sugar Sensitivity
The Unhealthy Truth: One Mother's Shocking Investigation into the Dangers of America's Food Supply-- and What Every Family Can Do to Protect Itself

This book is outstanding for people who love sweets, are overweight, and can't seem to lose weight around the belly section. I was not really overweight, but I do carry extra fat around the middle section, and have an insatiable sweet tooth. After reading this and discovering all the other sources of sugar that we are consuming without really thinking about it, I took the 2-week sugar detox described in the book. I lost 15 pounds in the belly area! It was so noticable and I felt so much energy, I knew this book really makes sense. It also includes recipes and helps you to re-adjust your eating habits to maintain a healthy blood-sugar level. I have recommended this book to so many people, and I hope others will find out about it too.

I was very disappointed with this book. There is some good information about HFCS but the author seems to think that trading in HFCS for artificial sweeteners is a good thing. Most of the recipes and menus rely heavily on artificial sweeteners and dairy. Why trade one poison for another?

Whilst I agree with the Dr. on HFCS and refined sugars, I think that the other information that he propagates is inaccurate. When he writes about "artery clogging saturated fat" I cringe. Same goes for the endorsement of artificial sweeteners and blanket references to the dangers of elevated cholesterol. I would not recommend this book. For compelling information on Fructose I would recommend viewing "Sugar: the bitter truth" on youtube. It is a long university lecture - UC California Davis. (90 mins, if memory serves) but is much more useful than this book in my opinion. Save your money and purchase "Honest Nutrition" by Ira Edwards. His book covers the gamut.

It's hard to find a diet book with easy menu plans consisting of foods readily available in most grocery stores and supermarkets. This book has them! The author has a 1200 calorie plan and 1600 calorie and a higher one as well. It would be nice to have more gradations but one can toggle between plans or figure out a gradation. Good way to cleanse body for 14 days of excessive levels of fructose, etc.

I bought this book and read it out of order in a couple of days. I now know why I gained 20 pounds in a single month some 25 years ago. I now have the answer to lose it all plus more that I gained later. I have had an idea that something in our food was making people fat. A lot of people now believe that diabetes is inevitable. Not true. I have known that sugar was bad for you for years but I didn't know the extent until I read this book. I am loaning to 2 people so far and giving it to my daughter who gained some 50 pounds in 3 years. I think this is one of the most important books on health to come along in years. I remember in the 60's, the AMA said your diet didn't make any differnce in your health. How wrong they were. I don't drink soda. I am eliminating all foods from my diet that contain high-fructose corn syrup and will limit all other sources of sugar and fructose. I am going to have to make my own whole wheat bread now.I already use stevia to sweeten tea and coffee. This is a great book. Buy it, read it and get healthy.